Buffalo, NY (WBEN) During a month when politics is usually an afterthought, there will be a flurry of activity at the voting booth in parts of Western New York in August.
In addition to the GOP primary race between Nick Langworthy and Carl Paladino August 23 in NY23, there is a special election for the seat vacated by Rep. Tom Reed. Max Della Pia and Joe Sempolinski will run to serve out the remainder of Reed's term, with the seat being absorbed into other districts in the newly mapped congressional districts in place beginning in 2023.
Sempolinski says he's running in a district he's lived in all his life. "There's nobody that knows that district better than I do. I used to serve as the district director in that congressional office, that's the person that's in the district, meeting with constituents, meeting with local stakeholders, and I want to I want to be their voice," says Sempolinski, the Steuben County Republican County chairman.
Sempolinski knows what he's getting into and says he's been asked about why he would run for a seat that could only be around for 4 months. He says right now, 750,000 people don't have a voice in Washington. "It would be an honor to serve for four minutes," explains Sempolinski. "This is not about me having some sort of career down in Washington, DC. This is about doing the job representing the people that I've grown up with the people that I've sent my entire life around, and being their voice and working for them." He adds he's not seeking a career in DC.
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GOP strategist Carl Calabrese says a campaign for a short term seat could lead to long term goals. "Politicians make a lot of calculations about running in seats that may not exist," explains Calabrese. "The fact that they run, and when, is a plus for whatever they might be thinking about down the road, whether it be maybe a county executive seat, or maybe a future run for Congress." Calabrese says even if they lose, their name is out there, and they can make contacts and have relationships with folks they wouldn't have otherwise been able to meet.
Calabrese says there's a bit of a challenge when running in a reapportionment year. "You suddenly find yourself with vast areas of people who don't know you, because you've never been there, you've never represented them," says Calabrese. He notes spending money if you have it can help resolve the name recognition issue.
